Metered product dispensing system

ABSTRACT

A metered product dispensing system that includes a pouch or container for holding a quantity of material to be dispensed, and a gun that can be manually actuated to dispense material from the pouch onto a desired location.

United States Patent [191 Christine et al.

METERED PRODUCT DISPENSING SYSTEM Inventors: William C. Christine,Catasaque;

William E. R. Watt, Barto, both of Pa.

Assignee: Inpaco, Allentown, Pa.

Filed: Aug. 20, 1973 Appl. No.: 389,472

Related US. Application Data Continuation-in-part of Ser. Nos. 205,692,Dec. 7, 1971, Pat. No. 3,758,005, and Ser. No. 301,076, Oct. 26, 1972.abandoned, and Ser. No. 312,485, Dec. 6, 1972, abandoned.

U.S. Cl. 222/309, 222/383 Int. Cl. G0lf 11/30 Field of Search 222/359,361, 354, 21,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,844,557 2/1932 Bobrick222/383 X 2,032,163 2/1936 Bagby.... 222/372 X 3,035,737 5/1962 Speas222/82 3,323,682 6/1967 Creighton et al. 222/94 3,367,353 2/1968 Hunter222/105 X 3,381,854 5/1968 Blanchet 222/2 Primary Examiner-Richard A.Schacher Assistant Examiner-James M. Slattery Attorney, Agent, orFirmSherman Levy 57 ABSTRACT A metered product dispensing system thatincludes a pouch or container for holding a quantity of material to bedispensed, and a gun that can be manually actuated to dispense materialfrom the pouch onto a desired location.

2 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures WJENTED 3,873,007

sumaggg I/I IA 1 METERED PRODUCT DISPENSING SYSTEM CROSS REFERENCE TORELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation in part of U.S.Pat. application Ser. No. 205,692, filed Dec. 7, 1971, now U.S. Pat. No.3,758,005; Ser. No. 301,076, filed Oct. 26, 1972, now abandoned; andSer. No. 312,485, filed Dec. 6, 1972, now abandoned.

This invention relates generally to a dispensing system, and moreparticularly to a method and means for dispensing measured quantities ofmaterial such as a fluent material from a pouch or container.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a meteredproduct dispensing system that includes a gun or actuating member thatis adapted to be manually operated whereby material in a pouch orcontainer will be dispensed through a nozzle in a desired manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a metereddispensing system that will dispense or eject a charge of material whena gun is manually actuated, and wherein the gun can be continuouslyoperated in order to dispense repeated quantities of the material fromthe pouch or container.

Still another object is to provide a metered product dispensing systemthat is simple, efficient and rugged in construction and adaptable tovarious conditions of operation.

Other details, objects, and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description of the novel features ofthe construction, arrangement and combination of the parts, taken inconjunction with the drawings, which accompany and form part of thespecification.

Referring to these drawings,

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view illustrating one application of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken through the body of the gun.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken through the head and nozzleof the gun.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a part of theoperating mechanism.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 99 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view illustrating the first step in theoperation.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10 and illustrating the second step.

FIG. 12 is a top perspective view of the container-or the pouch.

, FIG. 13 is a bottom perspective view ofthe device of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken on the line 14-14 of FIG. 13. v

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 30 indicates themetered product dispensing system of the present invention, FIG. 1, andwherein there is provided a hollow container 31 that includes a base 32that has a bottom wall 33, FIGS. 13 and 14. The base 33 further includesspaced parallel side walls 34 and spaced apart end walls 35. The numeral36 indicates a key slot 36 that is arranged in the bottom wall 33, andsuch slot 36 includes a narrow portion 37 integrally connected to awider arcuate portion 38. A spacer 39 depends from the bottom wall 33,and such spacer 39 has a tapered finger 40 depending therefrom for apurpose to be later described. The numeral 41 indicates a cover that ishingedly connected to the base 32 as at 42, and a latch mechanism 43 isprovided. for releasably connectingthe other end of the cover to thebase 32.

Arranged in the container 31 is a flexible pouch 44 that is adapted tobe made of a collapsible thermoplastic material or the like, and thepouch 44 is filled with fluent material 45 that is to be dispensed ordischarged in metered quantities. The material 45 may be a desiredconsistency capable of flowing and may be of any desired type, such as afood product, medicine, fluid, liquid or the like. A fitment 46 dependsfrom the pouch 44 and is suitably affixed thereto or formed integraltherewith, and the fitment 46 is adapted to extend through the slot 36when the device is being used. The fitment 46 may have a constructionsimilar to that shown in prior pending application Ser. Nos. 205,692;301,076; and 312,485. The fitment 46 may include a reduced diameterportion 46 as well as enlarged end portion 48 so that the fitment willnot accidently come loose from the slot 36. a

The numeral 49 indicates a gun and includes a hollow body member 50 thathas a handle 51 formed thereon,

and a manually operable trigger or lever 52 is pivotally connected tothe handle as at 53.

The trigger 52 has recessed finger engaging portions 54 for facilitatingthe manual operation of the trigger, FIG. 2. A link 55 has a bifurcatedend 56 which is pivotally connected by a pivot 57 to the end of thetrigger 52 remote from the pivot 53. The numeral 58 indicates asegmental gear piece that has an. extension 59 that is pivotallyconnected to a bifurcated end 60 of the link 55 by means of a pivot pin70. The gear piece 58 is provided with teeth 61 that mesh with teeth 63on a movable hollow sleeve 62, FIG. 2, and the sleeve 62 also has teeth64 thereon that are arranged opposite the teeth 63. The sleeve 62 isslidably supported between a pair of tracks 62' extending inwardly fromopposite sides of the body 50. One of the tracks 62 has a slot orgrooves 62 A which slidably receives a pin 62 B carried by the sleeve 62to prevent rotation of such sleeve and to limit movement thereof to a.fixed plane. The numeral 65 indicates a pawl or dog that is pivotallyconnected to a support 67 as at 66, and a coil spring 68 has one endconnected to the pawl 65., while the other end of the spring 68isanchored in place as at 69. The numeral 71 indicates a rod that isslidably mounted adjacent to one end within a sleeve 71 formed in theend wall of the gun body, and the opposite end of the rod 71 receivesand is slidably supported by the sleeve 62. A spring member 72 has oneend anchored to the rod 71 as at 73, and the other end of the springmember 72 is anchored in place to the gun body as at 74. A coil spring75 is circumposed on the rod 71 and the spring 75 abuts a collar 76 onthe rod as shown in the drawmgs.

The numeral 77 indicates a plunger or piston that is mounted on theouter end of the rod 71, and the piston 77 has a frusto-conical shape soas to define a pump.

the body 50 and the cylindrical portion 82 is rotatably mounted in asocket 80 B attached to the other side of such body. A cam member 83having a cam surface 83 A is provided with a square opening 83 B forsnugly receiving the square shaft 81. The cam member 83 includes a hubterminating in cam surfaces 84 that are adapted to coact with camsurfaces 85 on the socket 80 B. The numeral 86 indicates a spring memberthat is mounted on the square shaft 81, and the spring member 86is-interposed between the cam member 83 and the gear piece 58 to urgesuch cam member and gear piece away from each other.

The numeral 87 indicates a bar that has a flat portion 88 which isnormally engaged by the cam member 83. A spring or other resilientmember 89 has one end connected to the bar 87, and the other end of thespring member 89 is anchored in place to the gun body, as shown in thedrawings. The bar 87 is pivotally connected at one end to the gun bodyas at 90.

The numeral 91 indicates a nozzle that is detachably connected to thefront end of the gun by means of interlocking bayonette type coupling92. The nozzle 91 includes a housing 93 and has a tapered inner recessedportion 94. Projecting upwardly from the nozzle 91 is a piercing member95, FIG. 4, and the piercing member has sharpened, pointed, cuttingportions 96 on its outer end, and the interior of the member 95 ishollow, as at 97. A removable cap (not shown) may be mounted on thecutting portion 96 when the device is not being used, in order toprotect the cutting portion and provide a safety arrangement.

The numeral 98 indicates a pusher bar that is connected to the bar 87 bya pivot 99 and such pusher bar extends through an opening in-the endwall of the hollow body member 50 into engagement with a slidable bodyelement 100 carried by the nozzle 91. The body element is guided by adovetail and groove 101 in the nozzle 91 and a guide pin 102 fixed to aflange portion 103 on the nozzle.

A coil spring 104 is located within a recess in the body element 100and'is maintained therein by a stop pin 105 as shown in FIG. 6. Thenumeral 106 indicates a rotary core or valve member that is mounted in atransverse chamber 107 in the nozzle 91. The rotary valve member 106 hasspaced apart ports or passage- There is further provided a means fordetachably connecting the gun body to the pouch or container and thismeans comprises a clip 117 that is mounted on top of the gun body andhas a dovetail slot 118 that is adapted to receive the tapered member40.

In FIG. 2 the numeral 119 indicates a spring member that has one endanchored to the gun body, and the other end of the spring member 119 isconnected to the link 55.

The following is given as a description of the operation of the presentinvention. The pouch 44 that is initially filled with a quantity ofmaterial is arranged in the container 41 by releasing the latch 43 andswinging the cover 41 about its hinge 42. The cover 41 may haveangularly arranged surfaces 120 and 121 on the upper portion thereof,FIG. 12. After the filled pouch 44 with material 45 therein has beenplaced in the container 31 with the fitment 46 of the pouch 44projecting through the slot 36, and with the nozzle 91 connected to thegun 49 by means of the detachable coupling 92, the tapered finger 40 canbe snugly received in the slot 118 of the retainer 117 so that thecontainer and pouch will be properly arranged in their assembledposition on the gun. It will be noted that with the container and pouchmounted on the gun that the piercing member 95 will have its sharp edges96 extended through the temporary seal 122 adjacent the fitment 46 sothat this temporary seal 122 will be pierced.

Then, when it is desired to dispense the material in metered portions orquantities from the pouch 44, it is only necessary to manually squeezethe trigger 52 whereby the trigger 52 will move from a positionsuch asthe solid line position of FIG. 2 to the broken line position of FIG. 2so that the material will eventually be dispensed out through the tip103 onto the desired lo cation. The material 45 in the pouch 44 may beof any desired type, such as a food product, including condiments,mayonnaise, ketchup, or the like, or the pouch may contain a material ofany other composition such as medicine to be dispensed in meteredquantities.

Initially, the plunger 77 is in the position shown in FIG. 2, so thatthe plunger 77 is in retracted position relative to the flexiblediaphragm 78 and there is a charge of material 45 from the pouch 44 inthe housing 93 of the gun. When the trigger 52 is actuated or squeezed,initial movement of the link rotates the gear piece 58 and causes thesleeve 62 to advance I along the rod 71 due to the teeth 61 on the gearpiece ways 108, 109 and 110 which can be selectively aligned with therecessed portion 94 and a discharge passageway 111 in the outer end ofthe nozzle 91. In order to selectively rotate the valve member 106, areduced shaft 112 is integrally connected to the valve member 106 andextends outwardly therefrom. A gear 113 is mounted on the shaft 112 andsuch gear 'meshes with a'toothed rack member 114 which is secured to orformed integral with the body member 100, FIG. 6. Material which passesthrough the rotary valve member 106 is discharged through a dispensingtip 115 which is detachably connected to the nozzle 91 as at 116.

58 meshing with the teeth 63 on the sleeve 62. Rotation of the gearpiece 58 causes the square shaft 81 to rotate the cam member 83 andpivot the lever or bar 87, which it engages, about an axis extendingthrough the pin 90. Swinging movement of the bar 87 pushes the pusherbar 98 downwardly through the front end of the gun body 50. As thepusher bar 98 is extended, it

contacts or engages the adjacent end of the movable body element toadvance the element 100 against the tension of the spring 104 andadvancethe rack 114 because the rack 114 meshes with the teeth 113 carried bythe shaft 112, the valve member 106 is rotated within the chamber 107until the port 109 is in registration with the tapered portion 94 of thehousing 93 and the port is in alignment with the discharge passageway111 as illustrated in FIG. 10. In this position, the cam surface 83 A ofthe cam member 83 engages the bar 87 and maintains the valve member 106in discharge position. i

Continued movement of the segmental gear 58 causes the sleeve 62 toengage the spring 75, FIG. 10, so as to advance the plunger 77 and thusextend the diaphragm 78 so as to force the material within the housing93 through the dispensing nozzle 115 as illustrated in FIG. 11.

Just before the completion of the rearward movement of the handle 52,the cam surface 84 of the cam member 83 engages the cam surface 85 ofthe socket 80 B (FIG. 3) and moves the cam member 83 to the dotted lineposition of FIG. 3 against the tension of the spring 86. In thisposition, the cam member 83 moves out of registration and overlies thelever or bar 87 so that the lever 87 is released and is retracted by thespring 89. When the lever 87 is retracted, the pusher bar 98 iswithdrawn into the gun body 50 and the spring 104 shown in FIG. 6 in themember 100 returns the gear carrier to its initial position and rotatesthe valve 106 to the position shown in FIG. 4. In this position, theport 109 is in registration with the hollow piercing member 95 and theport 108 is in registration with the tapered portion 94 of the housing93 to provide communication between the pouch or container 44 of FIG. 14and the interior of the nozzle 91 of the gun. When the operating handle52 is released, the spring 119 shown in FIG. 2, returns the handle 52,and the spring 72 retracts the plunger 77 so that the diaphragm 78creates a sub-atmospheric pressure within the nozzle 91 to suck anothersupply of material from the pouch 44 into position ready to besubsequently discharged or dispensed in metered quantities.

In addition to using the manually actuated system shown in the drawings,a power system can be used, such as a pneumatic, electric, or footcontrolled arrangement. The parts can be varied so as to provide fordifferent metered displacements.

Relative to the cutting positions 96 on the piercing member 95, one sideof the cutting edge of such positions can be dulled so as to assure thatthe piercing is not complete, whereby the pierced portion of the pouchcan be retained preventing it from entering into the product duringdispensing.

As to the fitments, they may be injection molded, thermo-formed or maybe made of metal, and in all arrangements of fittings, the sealing glandcan be constructed to afford a pressure seal in conjunction with thepiercing member 95. The fitment may be provided with a snap-on sanitaryclosure or the like and this closure may be mechanical and will preventthe film to be pierced from becoming contaminated during shipment andstorage. The fitment may be provided with a locking groove forpositioning in the pouch dispensing container whereby the segment willbe held in place for piercing. The present invention also includes thepre: punching of the pouch and registering of a fitment over thepre-punched hole so that it is not necessary in some instances for thebayonet to actually pierce the film of the pouch.

Another feature that may be utilized is the punching and simultaneoussealing, and both approaches would require that the pouch film scrap beremoved by some method such as a mechanical, air or vacuum system.

The present invention is thus a total concept that includes a gun,pouch, fitment, and method of fastening the fitment to the pouch.

The metered product dispensing system of the present invention can alsobe used with the pouch and fitment with a special gland valve that canbe tied into a pressure vessel and the pressure vessel can bepressurized and the product dispensed so that replacing of the piercingmember pierces the pouch, and at the same time the tapered projection 40engages the recess 118 in the member 117 so that the container and pouchare locked on the gun. The dispensing nozzle is locked on the front endof the gun by means of the coupling 92. As previously noted, the edge ofthe piercing member may be dulled in the vicinity of theedge 96 toprovide a means for retaining the uncut segment of the pouch film inplace.

Although our invention has been illustrated and described with referenceto the preferred embodiments thereof, we wish to have it understood thatit is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments, but iscapable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. In a metered product dispensing system, a hollow container includinga base having a bottom wall, spaced apart side walls and spaced apartend walls, there being a slot in said bottom wall, said slot including anarrow portion and a wider portion, a bushing depending from said bottomwall, and having a tapered fitting depending therefrom, a cover hingedlyconnected to said base, and said cover including spaced apart sideportions, and a top that includes angularly arranged surfaces, an end ofsaid top being hingedly connected to said base, a latch releasablyconnecting the other end of said cover to said base, a flexible poucharranged in said container for holding material to be dispensed, afitment on said pouch projecting through the slot in said bottom wall; agun including a hollow body member having a handle on an end portionthereof, a manually operable trigger pivotally connected to said handle,a link pivotally connected to said trigger, a gear piece pivotallyconnected to said link, a sleeve having teeth thereon meshing with teethon said gear piece, a rod in said gun body and said rod having saidsleeve slidably mounted thereon, a spring member connected to said gunbody and said rod, a coil spring circumposed on said rod and abuttingsaid'sleeve, a

frusto-conical plunger on the outer end of said rod, a

flexible diaphragm adjacent the outer end of said plunger, a shaftconnected to said gear piece, a cam member slidably mounted on saidshaft, a spring member interposed between said gear piece and said cammember, a bar pivotally mounted in said gun body and said bar having ashouldered portion engaged by the cam member, a coil spring connected tosaid bar, a pusher connected to said bar, a nozzle connected to thefront end of said gun and said nozzle including a housing having atapered inner recessed portion, a bayonet piercing member on saidnozzle, a slidable body element engaged by said pusher, a guide pin forsaid body element, a rotary valve member including first, second andthird ports, a detachable tip for said nozzle, a shaft member connectedto said valve member and said shaft member having gear teeth thereon, arack on said body element engaging said last-named gear teeth, a coilspring engaging said guide pin, a coupling detachably connecting saidnozzle to said gun, and detachable holding means on the top of said gunfor receiving the tapered fitting on the lower portion of the container.

2. Apparatus for dispensing a metered quantity of fluent materialcomprising a hollow body having a nozzle at one end, said nozzle havinga dispensing opening, a selectively rotatable valve mounted in saidnozzle, means for selectively rotating said valve to a first position toprovide communication between said nozzle and said dispensing opening,piston means movable within said nozzle, means for advancing said pistonmeans after said valve is moved to said first position to dischargematerial from said nozzle through said dispensing opening, means forrotating said valve to a second position to provide communicationbetween said I nozzle and a source of supply of material to bedispensed, means for retracting said'piston after said valve is moved tosaid second position to create a subopposite direction, an operatinglever swingably mounted on said body, means operatively, connected tosaid lever for sequentially operating said means for rotating said valveto a first position and said means for advancing said piston means andsaid means for rotating said piston to a second position when said leveris moved in one direction, and for operating said means for selectivelyretracting said piston when said lever is moved in an oppositedirection, and means for advancing said piston means including gearmeans rotatably mounted in said hollow body and connected to said op-'erating lever, a rod connected to said piston and said rod extendinginto said hollow body, a collar fixed to said rod in spaced relationshipto said piston, spring means carried by said rod adjacent to saidcollar, a sleeve slidably mounted on the end of said rod remote fromsaid piston, and said sleeve having a toothed rack meshing with saidgear means, whereby rotation of said gear means moves said sleeve alongsaid rod into engagement with said spring means to cause said piston tobe advanced.

1. In a metered product dispensing system, a hollow container includinga base having a bottom wall, spaced apart side walls and spaced apartend walls, there being a slot in said bottom wall, said slot including anarrow portion and a wider portion, a bushing depending from said bottomwall, and having a tapered fitting depending therefrom, a cover hingedlyconnected to said base, and said cover including spaced apart sideportions, and a top that includes angularly arranged surfaces, an end ofsaid top being hingedly connected to said base, a latch releasablyconnecting the other end of said cover to said base, a flexible poucharranged in said container for holding material to be dispensed, afitment on said pouch projecting through the slot in said bottom wall; agun including a hollow body member having a handle on an end portionthereof, a manually operable trigger pivotally connected to said handle,a link pivotally connected to said trigger, a gear piece pivotallyconnected to said link, a sleeve having teeth thereon meshing with teethon said geaR piece, a rod in said gun body and said rod having saidsleeve slidably mounted thereon, a spring member connected to said gunbody and said rod, a coil spring circumposed on said rod and abuttingsaid sleeve, a frusto-conical plunger on the outer end of said rod, aflexible diaphragm adjacent the outer end of said plunger, a shaftconnected to said gear piece, a cam member slidably mounted on saidshaft, a spring member interposed between said gear piece and said cammember, a bar pivotally mounted in said gun body and said bar having ashouldered portion engaged by the cam member, a coil spring connected tosaid bar, a pusher connected to said bar, a nozzle connected to thefront end of said gun and said nozzle including a housing having atapered inner recessed portion, a bayonet piercing member on saidnozzle, a slidable body element engaged by said pusher, a guide pin forsaid body element, a rotary valve member including first, second andthird ports, a detachable tip for said nozzle, a shaft member connectedto said valve member and said shaft member having gear teeth thereon, arack on said body element engaging said lastnamed gear teeth, a coilspring engaging said guide pin, a coupling detachably connecting saidnozzle to said gun, and detachable holding means on the top of said gunfor receiving the tapered fitting on the lower portion of the container.2. Apparatus for dispensing a metered quantity of fluent materialcomprising a hollow body having a nozzle at one end, said nozzle havinga dispensing opening, a selectively rotatable valve mounted in saidnozzle, means for selectively rotating said valve to a first position toprovide communication between said nozzle and said dispensing opening,piston means movable within said nozzle, means for advancing said pistonmeans after said valve is moved to said first position to dischargematerial from said nozzle through said dispensing opening, means forrotating said valve to a second position to provide communicationbetween said nozzle and a source of supply of material to be dispensed,means for retracting said piston after said valve is moved to saidsecond position to create a sub-atmospheric pressure within said nozzleand to draw material thereinto from said source of supply, whereby ametered quantity of material is discharged from said nozzle when saidpiston means is moved in one direction, and an equal quantity ofmaterial is introduced into said nozzle when said piston means is movedin an opposite direction, an operating lever swingably mounted on saidbody, means operatively connected to said lever for sequentiallyoperating said means for rotating said valve to a first position andsaid means for advancing said piston means and said means for rotatingsaid piston to a second position when said lever is moved in onedirection, and for operating said means for selectively retracting saidpiston when said lever is moved in an opposite direction, and means foradvancing said piston means including gear means rotatably mounted insaid hollow body and connected to said operating lever, a rod connectedto said piston and said rod extending into said hollow body, a collarfixed to said rod in spaced relationship to said piston, spring meanscarried by said rod adjacent to said collar, a sleeve slidably mountedon the end of said rod remote from said piston, and said sleeve having atoothed rack meshing with said gear means, whereby rotation of said gearmeans moves said sleeve along said rod into engagement with said springmeans to cause said piston to be advanced.